Airplane Tales – The Fairchild C-123 Provider

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
10/04/2017 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik, planes you've (probably) never heard of

Aside from perhaps the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , cargo planes rarely garner as much fame as more glamorous military aircraft. The Fairchild C-123 Provider is one of the lesser-known cargo aircraft in US Air Force history. Nevertheless, it proved to be a utilitarian workhorse that served throughout the Vietnam War and beyond. But the tale of the C-123 actually begins with a giant glider.

(US Air Force)

During WWII, the use of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in large-scale invasions such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! invasion of France allowed the delivery of more troops and equipment than could be accomplished by parachute drops alone. However, paratroops often referred to the crash-prone wooden gliders as flying coffins, and many gliders were actually built by coffin manufacturers along with other woodworking trades. Following the war, the Army requested a much larger glider capable of carrying more troops and vehicles. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! responded with the XG-20, built entirely of metal and the largest glider ever built in the United States. By the time flight testing was completed, however, the Air Force had abandoned gliders in favor of helicopters and powered transports. Only two prototypes were ever built, and only one of them ever flew.

Chase XG-20 (US Air Force)

Though the glider was canceled, Chase had planned all along for the possible attachment of engines. A pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! radials were fitted to create the XC-123, while four !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojets, the same engines used on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , were added to create the XC-123A, making it the first jet-powered transport to be built for the US Air Force. However, the jet engines didn’t provide the performance that the Air Force hoped for, nor did the XC-123A outperform the piston-powered alternatives. Only one was ever built.

Chase XC-123A (US Air Force)

The C-123, however, with powerful radial engines that were eventually supplemented with a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojets, was a hit. With accommodations for 61 troops or 50 stretchers, the Provider was used widely in Vietnam, where its short-field capabilities made it popular for the resupply of forward bases. It also gained a measure of fame, or perhaps infamy, for its role in spraying !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! defoliant over the jungles of Vietnam as part of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The US Air Force Thunderbirds used a Provider for hauling supplies and ground crew members, but it was involved in a crash that remains the single worst accident in Thunderbirds history. Providers were built in a number of variants, including a conversion to nighttime reconnaissance and ground attack, a search and rescue version for the US Coast Guard, and numerous export variants for international customers. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which had taken over production from Chase early on, eventually built 307 Providers from 1949-1970, and the type was retired by the Air Force in 1980.

C-123K Provider. Note the jet engine pods just outside of the radial engines. (US Air Force)

Fairchild NC-123K outfitted with infrared scanner, low-light level television, a laser range finder, and cluster bomb dispensers for use in Vietnam. (US Air Force)

US Coast Guard HC-123B (US Coast Guard)

Air Force UC-123B spraying Agent Orange over Vietnam in Operation Ranch Hand (US Air Force)

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Connecting Flights

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If you enjoyed this post, please join in the conversation and let me know. For more posts about aviation history and aircraft oddities, head over to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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DISCUSSION (17)

Spaceball-Two > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 12:49

Lets not forget this gem.

Kinja'd!!!

Edit: Tried finding a good pic of the jet powered C1234 in Die Hard 2.

ttyymmnn > Spaceball-Two
10/04/2017 at 13:00

I thought about mentioning that in the article, but I figured somebody else would post it. They used three different C-123s for that movie, only one of which was airworthy. Unfortunately, that aircraft, N709RR, was destroyed in a crash in Alaska in 2010, with three fatalities.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 13:00

Kinja'd!!!

Great story - here’s another one that made it to Oshkosh this summer.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 13:02

I want one.

ttyymmnn > Spaceball-Two
10/04/2017 at 13:04

Kinja'd!!!

It’s only a model....

I had forgotten about this. Actually, I think I had blocked it from my memory.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove
10/04/2017 at 13:05

I think theXC-123A is dead sexy, even for a cargo plane. It looks like something a Bond villain would fly in.

Spaceball-Two > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 13:07

A very poor one at that.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 13:09

I would wear black when I fly it and talk to the tower in a Russian accent. Just because.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 13:23

A Provider features very heavily in Operation Dumbo Drop. Probably the most Hollywood screen time outside Con Air.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/04/2017 at 13:31

I did not know that, though I have never seen the film. Thanks for they info!

user314 > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 16:01

It’d be insanely expensive and a cast-iron-bitch to get FAA approval, but I would totally convert a junker -123K into an XC-123A, only with modern jets.

greasemonkey235097 > ttyymmnn
10/04/2017 at 22:21

Dont forget Air America with Mel Gibson and Robert Downy Jr

greasemonkey235097 > Spaceball-Two
10/04/2017 at 22:32

Die Hard 2 used ILM build models

ttyymmnn > greasemonkey235097
10/04/2017 at 23:52

Never saw that either.

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn
10/16/2020 at 15:23

C-123. Crazy. Starts as a glider, then props, then jets. I think it was the first America n jet transport,[ unsuccessful] , as well. Classic shaggy dog story. There’s also some fuzzy memory of a couple of Providers being intentionally crushed during the Iran-Co ntra mess. One can’t write this stuff.

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn
10/16/2020 at 15:26

It kind of looks like what they used/created for Air Force One in Escape from New York ...another classic of 70's filmmaking.

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas...
10/16/2020 at 15:26

I thought the Chase XC-123A was a very attractive a/c.